Humans and Hospitals

A few observations about humans and hospitals...

Overseas, I was saddened and sickened by the care people received in hospitals. Mirwais Hospital, where I observed for a few days in 2006 still remains one of the worst memories of my entire life. Two separate but distinct events- one in which a baby was killed out of ignorance, and another in which a nomad woman giving birth was treated (literally) like an animal- cemented in my mind that if I got sick in Afghanistan, the hospital was the LAST place I was going to go.

I am beginning to think the only difference in Mirwais and hospitals here in the US might be blank checks. In the last 2 years, I have seen little kids come to the hospital and die, almost die, loose some brain function or become brain dead because of 1) first and foremost, their disease process and 2) mistakes doctors and other health care personnel made while trying to save them.

Maybe this is so real to me because once as a student, I made a huge mistake during a code, too. Luckily someone else caught my mistake, and fixed it. I had to try to remember for a long time that you can't kill someone during a code; they are already dead. Whatever you are doing can only possibly bring them back to life, Lord willing that they live.

It seems to me that the problem with hospitals is not always the amount of education instilled in their workers or the resources available to them, but the simple fact that they are run by humans. Human people; regular, imperfect, mistake-making people.

Would those children have died or been seriously hurt if nothing had been done by medical people? Some yes and some no. I can guarantee you that EVERY doctor has made mistakes. Its up to chance and fate whether those mistakes cost someone their life.

I don't know how many parents I have seen get angry with the doctors... but I don't hear any of them jumping to let us know what dose of dopamine they think we should have given their child to maintain the correct mean arterial pressure. Its easy to get frustrated when you aren't the one doing the procedure or prescribing the medicines. Of course it would be wonderful to have the best of the best, but don't forget that medical caregivers are just people. They forget things. And having an expectation that you or your child will receive perfect care and be fixed on demand is a little too lofty an ideal for such a fallen race as humankind. I guess my only thought is that if you don't want any mistakes made, you should try to find a hospital run by another species.